Republic Day...Mera Bharat Mahan !!!!

Wish you all a very Happy Republic Day !!!! Its that time of the year in India when all the public places are decorated with indian flags and all public offices have a flag hoisting ceremony. My dad works for Hindustan Petroleum so we used to attend two flag hoisting ceremonies per year (the other for Independence Day):):)

As a kid I used to be excited when either Republic day or Independence day were nearing as that was the only time I could go to see my Dad's office...when I was in Visakhapatnam all of us (kids) used to go to the office attend the ceremony eat a lot of sweets, saw the refinery and Dad's work place and came back to the colony immediately as there was another function there. After the function there used to be a traditional cricket match of the Uncles which used to be a big deal and it was a packed house to see the game....when I moved to Mumbai the routine didnt change much for the first couple of years but as I got older I stopped going to my dad's office and I used to only attend the ceremony at the colony....all of us used to wait for the formalities to finish so that we could eat (how we change with age) !!!!!!!!! after the flag hoisting we used to have either a soccer match (independence day)/ crikcet match (Rep Day)...we used to change the sport becoz of monsoon...we used to have fun playing those matches as they were always competitive and we used to play...Youngsters Vs Uncles (only cricket)....ofcourse we used to win...during the Indepedence day celebrations we used to play soccer forming two teams among us...it was great fun as lot of people used to watch it....that time one more reason for some people to play was to impress girls. Some of my friends were "linked" or teased with some girls name so whenever he scored we used shout from the field the girls name and in response that girls friends also used to shout his name....so it was all fun...the best part of soccer in monsoon was the soggy field...Keechad...we used to luv playing...but my mom wasnt excited as the clothes used to be dirty (next to trashing level) everyday:)....we used to name the two teams..."Tigers" and "Lions"...the tigers team used to wear striped shirts...that reminds me...one of my friends had asked "should we wear strips and come???"...all of us had burst out laughing and we still tease that guy with that incident...

All fun apart...the best part abt the Replublic day or independence day that i used to like are the Songs played and the Parade on the TV....the parade used to be awesome..I miss that now:(:(....it was great to see all the states represented and all the armed forces perform.....it was exciting to watch the tanks, soldiers on foot and horses etc...I think that is one of the few times when Indian Army is shown on TV....the Guys who work day and night and risk their lives for our comfort only get mentioned in news as being severly injured or dead....thats sad as the Army in this country gets a lot of attention. I used to feel that the soldiers always had low profile or coverage when they should have been shown as symbols of strength and determination.....but anyways....it was fun to see these guys on TV in their uniforms...

The songs that are played on both the days are awesome!!!!! They are very very touching....I have always liked the patriotic songs and some songs still give me a strange feeling inside...I cant describe the feeling....but its a great feeling...I guess thats why one of my friends wrote on her blog "You can take a man (or a woman, for that matter) out of India, but you can never take India out of a man (or a woman)."....

My favorite song is "Aye Mere watan ke Logon"...that song still gives me jitters and makes the hair on my hand stand whenever I lister to it....the lyrics are brilliant and the voice brings forward the sacrificies the soldiers have made for the freedom and well being of India...